justanotherpenguin's Profile
Who remembers La Barbera's pizza in West L.A.?
At one time they had at least two locations, one where you mention, the other in Toluca Lake. Both were closed down and the family purchased an old German restaurant (?Matterhorn?) on Oxnard, just west of Woodman. I still go there when in the area.
Orange County for large family meal.
Thank you for your input. Unfortunately you are correct, "exotic" would not work. I will check out the others.
Orange County for large family meal.
I have tried to search for other threads and am unable to find ones that are relatively recent and address my topic. If I have missed them, please point me out in the right direction.
My in-laws decided several years ago that the best way to celebrate Mother's Day was to go to a restaurant for lunch the Saturday before. This has worked out quite well as the restaurants are not very busy and it leaves Sunday for the individual families to celebrate with other in-laws, etc. We are a group of about 20 adults and 5 great grand-kids under 5. In the past we have been to Buco de beppo and other such places. We have tried to get a private room, though that is not an absolute necessity. We've also tried to find places that offer "family style" meals (easily shareable) though, again, that is not required.
The family now stretches from Santa Clarita to San Diego to Palm Springs and into Orange County, Ideally, the place should be in the Orange County area, along the 91 and further south. We are trying to keep the cost under $30/person (food only). Any suggestions will be appreciated. I would love to find a place that is not a chain, though not everyone shares my opinion. Thanx.
Need my Pierogi
Here is a link (with a link within) with some valuable information. Bazaar is still around, and, in my opinion, the best for Russian style pirozhki. I don't believe that Traktir survived.
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/557196
Attn: Splenda Users
we did the same thing about 2 months ago. cannot tell the difference.
Bone-In Lamb Shoulder?
I 2nd the SuperKing, and there are two in your area: in Altadena on Lincoln just north of Woodbury and on San Fernando Road just west of the #2 freeway. Parking is horrible.
At times they have actually carried American bone-in lamb.
Costco ciabatta rolls - are they gone?
We just started getting them at the Lake Elsinore store - delicious!
Need a New Favorite Italian Resteraunt
?Far Niente
?Gennaro's
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Far Niente Ristorante
204 1/2 N Brand Blvd, Glendale, CA 91203
Gennaro's Ristorante
1109 N Brand Blvd, Glendale, CA 91202
El Tepeyac #2 Coming Soon...
if you're coming from downtown la, unless you are heading much further east than the 605, you're better off going to the original on evergreen.
El Tepeyac #2 Coming Soon...
it is not any member of his family. (unless he is lying to me!)
El Tepeyac #2 Coming Soon...
after over 40 years of hanging out at the original, got to try out the new one yesterday.
the best part is that the quality of food is identical. we had a hollenbeck and the machaca (our usual standbys) and they were great. as noted above, this has beer and wine and i was told that they are planning a full bar - certainly have the room. large room, large bar, large outdoor seating area and plenty of parking. also, there was no wait, though the service was a bit slower than at the old location.
the worst part - there was no manuel pouring tequilla shots, etc., kissing my wife's hand and giving me my usual hug. it also feels strange sitting in a large room, with 10-12 foot ceilings and not being squeezed like sardines. i think that it's one of those: "you can't go home again" moments.
will definitely be stopping again. being at the 60 & 605 is a lot more convenient for me now than evergreen, but the original location will always be #1.
i hope that they spread some more and can maintain the food quality.
Endless fun Sunday Brunch
is this one of those: "it all depends on how you define 'is' is moments? (bill clinton)
El Tepeyac #2 Coming Soon...
i actually spoke with Manuel at the original on evergreen about this 5-6 months ago. he confirmed that they are related, though somewhat of a franchise. the owners of the new location are paying him a very large royalty, and he has complete control in getting it going. they also have options for other locations. so watch out! (i told him that i hope that they continue moving south along the I-15.)
Does anyone know of this type of deep-fried hot dog?
i am impressed!
but seriously... how did it taste?
Throwing a manly-man Cloudburst (rather than a shower)
Son is getting married next month. Since all of the women have been running around throwing showers, I have decided to throw a Cloudburst. Pretty sure that we will do steaks & potatoes, but need ideas for appetizers and deserts that ooze of manliness.
We will have about 15-20 men of varying ages (14-84). It seems to me that food items requiring fire pits and blow torches will be appropriate. Clouds will be bursting this coming Saturday (5/21).
Input will be greatly appreciated.
Lake Elsinore, Murrieta, Temecula
we really should try to keep this thread alive.
new place opened a few months ago in the stater bros shopping center at railroad canyon and canyon hills rd. called "grapes & tomatoes". we and several friends have been and are very favorably impressed. they have gourmet pizzas and italian inspired food. very nice wine selection. definitely worth going to.
immediately next door is a new donut place: "wolfee's". excellent and open 24 hours.
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Grapes & Tomatoes
29997 Canyon Hills Rd, Lake Elsinore, CA 92532
Broasted Chicken in LA
did try dinah's. don't care what they call it. i call it horrible.
darn i miss amber's!
Elsinore-Menifee-Temecula Valley. Ingredient, specialty and ethnic supply stores.
trying to bump again.
Lunch or dinner near JPL?
i used to live 1 block from jpl and know the area well. the closest food establishments are about 1 1/2 - 2 miles west along foothill blvd. taylors, dish, chipotle, several mexican, sushi, pizza, etc. nothing really great, but all edible. even a conrad's coffee shop that has outstanding fried chicken.
can also go about five miles west (foothill to verdugo to honolulu) and wind up in montrose village which also has a decent selection.
going directly east takes you into northwest pasadena and altadena. questionable areas, but there is a great gelato place called bulgarini's.
ps: the jpl open house is great! enjoy.
It's Artichoke Season - Who's Got 'Em?
not quite in your area, but in the last couple of weeks we have found fantastic artichokes in the temecula area and in san diego. at vons in san diego and stater bros in temecula. maybe you should check out your vons. (i swear that one pair that we got at stater is the best fresh artichoke that i've ever had!)
Why Are Food Prices Shooting Up?
wife and i went shopping at a "winco" a few days ago. their claim to fame is that they sell a lot of stuff in bulk, don't take credit cards and give shoppers a small credit for using cloth (reusable) bags. we thought that many prices were up. wife had a receipt from a month ago and started comparing. without going into great detail, a significant number of the same items were up from 15-30%.
in the meantime, came across this article on how the govt has changed it's method of inflation calculation. this explains a lot:
http://www.cnbc.com/id/42551209
still plan to revisit this thread in jan12.
ISO: good food, full bar, east of western, not downtown
i cringe (because i do not care for it but many still do): pacific dining car?
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Pacific Dining Car
1310 W 6th St, Los Angeles, CA 90017
Pig Roast
i know that this thread is about a year old, but it has some good info and i would like to see more added.
we are planning to do a whole pig in about 3 weeks. would like to use the "hawaiian" method of burying it in the ground with lots of banana leaves and/or soaked burlap, etc.
wondering if there is any advice on how to determine pig weight to feed 50 +/-; cooking time;seasoning; etc.
are there any good instructions on line?
all help will be appreciated. we are near temecula in southern cal, and if anyone can help with sources that would also be extremely beneficial.
thanx in advance.
Elsinore-Menifee-Temecula Valley. Ingredient, specialty and ethnic supply stores.
bump. is it really this barren?
Smoke House in Burbank
have been to both. numerous times to smokehouse, 3 times to dal rae. the only thing that smokehouse has going for it is location and continuity. i would not go out of my way to go to smokehouse, would do so for dal rae. similar ambiance, much better food, and IMHO considerably friendlier service.
Saving the Best Bite For Last
i used to have a friend who took this concept in a different direction. his assumption was that eventually he would get full (his stomach would catch up with him) and not finish his food. so he would prioritize everything on his plate and eat in order starting from best liked to least liked.
so if he had a steak, baked potato & green beans on his plate, he would finish the steak first, then the beans, and finally the potato. this way, if he didn't finish the potato it would not matter since it was the least liked of these three items.
Elsinore-Menifee-Temecula Valley. Ingredient, specialty and ethnic supply stores.
My wife and I moved to Canyon Lake a couple of years ago. As those of you who live in this area know, it is not extremely conducive for specialty shops. I would like this thread to be the start of a list where we can share our "finds". So we are looking for everything from butchers to bakers to fish mongers to Chinese to Russian to Mexican to ..... I don't really want this to be a restaurant review thread, but rather a source for those of us who do a lot of cooking and entertaining at home.
The End of the Shrimp is Coming!!!
we always boil our own shrimp for "shrimp cocktails". i like to buy them with heads on as this adds to the flavor. we then peal them and leave the last portion in the shell so as to have the tail to hold the shrimp by. (there is a reason for this story.)
there have been times when we have had guests that leave the last portion uneaten. they are NEVER served shrimp again!
